Strictly Come Dancing has never been shy about putting its best foot forward, and on Saturday night the glitterball trophy dazzled viewers via an extra dimension as, for the first time ever, the grand final was broadcast in 3D.

It should be noted that, on television, three dimensions are not automatically better than two. For serious dramas, documentaries (aside from those involving penguins and Sir David Attenborough) and factual series, 3D is little more than a distracting gimmick. Where it does enhance the viewing experience is by adding spectacle to the spectacular. Live sport; animation; action films. These are the types of programmes that 3D makes larger than life.

Yet even within the arena of live sport, 3D is not an unqualified boon. Football does not greatly benefit from being broadcast in 3D, for example, because the standard, top-of-the-stands camera angle sacrifices detail and depth perception to provide a full view of the pitch: even if you're watching live from the stands most of the action appears to be taking place in 2D. (At Craven Cottage on Saturday I buried my head in my hands as Bryan Ruiz blasted a sitter over the bar. In fact, as I realised a moment later when the Hammersmith End erupted around me, Ruiz had beaten the goalkeeper with an audacious chip. My lack of perspective had fooled me into thinking that Ruiz had fluffed his chance.)

The sports which most benefit from 3D viewing are therefore those in which perspective is key: tennis (so you can judge the topspin on a Nadal forehand); golf (so you can follow a four-wood arrow down the fairway); cricket (so you can see the flight on a Warne legbreak); and darts (so you can marvel at the curavature of the players' stomachs). And, to my surprise, ballroom dancing is another athletic event instantly improved by being watched in 3D.

I am no Craig Revel Horwood, but the pace and precision of Harry and Chelsee's footwork was made even more dazzling by the extra dimension. There is much to distract viewers on a Strictly set: the disco lights, the sequins, the gaudy props and backdrops. Yet, in 3D, all I could focus on was the competitors' feet, so quick and intricate were the patterns they tapped on the dancefloor.

Of all the excellent dances in the final - certainly the most accomplished climax to a series I have seen - Harry and Aliona's American Smooth to Can't Help Falling Love was the most hypnotic in 3D - I think because Aliona ostrich-feather fish-tail seemed to swish out of my television with every twist and twirl. I'm not sure if the licence fee will stretch to airing the whole of the next year's Strictly Come Dancing in 3D but the extra dimension certainly enhanced my appreciation of Harry and Chelsee's bravura display.

3D Strictly did have its drawbacks, however. Bruce Forsyth's chin appeared to be hovering somewhere over my coffee table for much of the evening, while Jessie J's sequined crotch, on display as she sang Price Tag in a costume that made her look like Evil-Lyn from He-Man: Masters of the Universe, almost had my eye out.